Transnational Artist Collective

Zine: Downtown (Egypt) - £1

Downtown

'Downtown' is the first collaboration between Cairo based writer Nancy Ibrahim and Australian artist Damon Kowarsky. It was made in response to the downtown area of Cairo with its congestion, traffic, and busy humanity. Ibrahim and Kowarsky are currently working on a new zine that looks at the 25 January Revolution in Egypt. In Arabic and English (bilingual). Printed on special golden parchment paper. A6 size. Described by readers as "beautiful, poetic dreamy...".

Nancy Ibrahim holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Cairo University. Since graduating in 2006 she has worked in all areas of the media including print, television and radio. Nancy Ibrahim is currently a broadcast journalist for the Arabic service of BBC radio in Cairo.

In addition to her daily work on current affairs she covers art, culture and society, and produces video reports for the BBC's Arabic online portal. Ibrahim is interested in psychoanalysis and the arts in contemporary society. In 2009 she received the Qasr Al-Cinema [State Cultural Centre for Cinema] award for script writing in cinema and documentary.

About Damon Kowarsky

Damon Kowarsky studied printmaking at the Victoria College of the Arts (VCA) and Glasgow School of Art, and Advanced Figure Drawing at RMIT. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Art, Honours, in Printmaking from VCA.

Since graduating in 2000 he has exhibited his prints in Australia and abroad and worked as a scientific, courtroom, and archaeological illustrator.

Kowarsky has travelled extensively in North Africa, West Asia and the Middle East. The architecture of each of these regions, particularly those of Yemen, Djibouti and Ethiopia, and the colours of earth and sky inspire much of his work.

Kowarsky has received numerous awards, grants and residencies and has also taught drawing and printmaking in Lahore and Karachi.